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Static Gravity Field Anomalies
Measuring Water Storage in the Amazon
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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
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Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
GRACE observed Earth’s surface mass changes nearly every month from 2002 to mid-2017. GRACE Follow-On will provide crucial continuity to these observations for the next five years or more.
Earth Mass Changes, 2002 to 2017
Gravity anomaly map using GRACE data.
Gravity Anomaly Map Using GRACE Data
GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and...
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
GRACE-FO arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from Germany.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
The two GRACE-FO satellites are seen from GFZ’s Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Potsdam, Germany, on May 23, 2018 at 22:16 UTC and 22:17 UTC, respectively.
GRACE-FO Satellites From Potsdam
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
Depletion of groundwater in northwestern India between 2002 and 2008, measured by GRACE.
Groundwater Depletion in India, 2002-2008
Illustration of GRACE-FO gravity data over Africa.
GRACE-FO Gravity Data Over Africa
This map from September 2015 shows deep drought in California, Nevada and Texas.
Groundwater Drought Indicator
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 2).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 2)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO in Falcon 9 on Launchpad
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
A simplified example of how the distance between the GRACE-FO satellites changes as they pass from the Caribbean Sea across Colombia and Peru.
How GRACE-FO Measures Gravity
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellites at Vandenberg
Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
GRACE Follow-On continues the critical mission of measuring the movements of mass within and between Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as below Earth’s surface.
GRACE-FO Fact Sheet
The GRACE Intermediate Field 48 (GIF48 from UT-CSR) field model is an improved mean gravity field that combines GRACE observations and terrestrial gravity information.
Static Gravity Field Anomalies
Variations in water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins from 2003 to 2009, measured by GRACE. Reds represent drier conditions, while blues represent wetter conditions. The majority of ...
Tigris and Euphrates Water Storage, 2003 to 2009
GRACE Flight Trajectory
GRACE Flight Trajectory
A 3D interactive model of NASA's GRACE-FO spacecraft.
GRACE-FO 3D Model
The signal of the December 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean in GRACE observations of Earth's gravity field.
GRACE Sees Earthquake in Indian Ocean
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
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North America was almost entirely above its long-term average in mass in May 2019, due to Midwestern flooding, with the runoff raising the Great Lakes to record levels.
GRACE-FO Shows the Weight of Midwestern Floods
GRACE-FO releases first Level-2 data products, including nine monthly gravity fields and corresponding atmosphere and ocean dealiasing background model data.
GRACE-FO First Gravity Field Data Now Available
GRACE-FO First Science Data Now Available
GRACE-FO First Science Data Now Available
The University of Texas at Austin team that led a twin satellite system launched in 2002 to take detailed measurements of the Earth, called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), reports in the most recent issue of the journal Nature Climate Change on the contributions that their nearly two decades of data have made to our understanding of global climate patterns.
GRACE Mission Data Contributes to Our Understanding of Climate Change
GRACE Follow-On has resumed collecting data after completing a switchover to a backup system.
GRACE-FO Resumes Data Collection
NASA's GRACE-FO team plans to switch to a backup system in the Microwave Instrument on one of the twin spacecraft this month.
GRACE-FO Satellite Switching to Backup Instrument Processing Unit
